[mactropolis]

Hi All!
When erasing CD-RW discs, is it best to perform a 'Quick' erase or a 'Thorough' erase to clear it?

I burn a CD-RW with data several times a week to transfer files between two computers. However, after the CD-RW gets full and needs to be erased, most CD burner software usually gives the user a choice of a Quick/Fast Erase or a much longer Thorough Erase option. I've heard that after numerous 'Quick' erases, it degrades the ability of the disc to hold data, forcing you to perform a Thorough erase of that particular disc. My question is, when using (and erasing) CD-RW's discs frequently, is it best to perform a 'Thorough' erase each and every time I need to delete all the files or use the 'Quick/Fast' erase option?

Thanks

[Eriamjh]

Quick just erases the header information. THe old info is really still on the disk.

Thorough completely burns zeros or "nothing" over all data, making any data recovery impossible.

I see no problem using quick, but once in a while, you might want to do a full erase just to be safe.

I have never seen any guidelines about about CD-RW use multiple times and what is best.

[The Godfather]

I agree with the above poster.

Also, when you perform a quick erase, that CDRW can be written again ONLY by the same software, until you make a complete erase by any burning software.

I used to do this a lot, until I got my flash drive. $15 in newegg.com

[mactropolis]

Anyone ever hear of what the possible life-span of a CD-RW happens to be?

I also have a USB flash drive which I use to take things back and forth, but files over 256 MB (245 MB formatted actually) I have to use a CD-RW.

Talking about burning, I am looking for Free/Demo(/Hack) software utility to burn ISO's (CD Images) using Windows XP. The net conenction at my college is typically fast and when I download ISO's I first have to use WinRAR to compress it a bit since a 700 MB ISO won't fit as a file on a 700MB CD-RW, then I use the built-in Windows XP cd-burning wizzard to copy the actual ISO file to a CD-RW, and finally I take it home and copy the ISO file over to my HD, where I can finally burn the ISO to a CD-R for good.

The problem is Windowns XP doesn't support burning ISO's directly to CD, just data files and folders. So i'm looking for a stand-alone (even a non-GUI command line) utility that supports burning ISO's. More importantly though, is that I need to find something that I can install and use from my Flash drive and works without needing Admin privileges on XP. The XP PC's aren't that locked down, but our network accounts don't have Administrator privileges.

All ideas welcomed.

[OldManMac]

IIRC correctly, a CD-RW has a life of 1,000 rewrites.

[Cadaver]

Originally posted by KarlG:
IIRC correctly, a CD-RW has a life of 1,000 rewrites.

Many of them do... but remember, like any media, some will just die an early death.
I had a Sony 4x DVD+RW go bad after two write cycles.

[Dale Sorel]

Originally posted by Cadaver:
Many of them do... but remember, like any media, some will just die an early death.

Yep